


How do you play this?

by TheViolinGirl



Series: Fire emblem 3 houses:musician version [5]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Childhood Friends, Gen, Music AU, friendship stuff UwU, good dad gilbert, mercie and annie are childhood friends, swappy swap, wholesome stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:29:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28791747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheViolinGirl/pseuds/TheViolinGirl
Summary: Annie tries to give her friend Mercie a trumpet lessonMercie gives her friend some pointers on the flutemeanwhile,The faerghus quartet swap instruments and try to teach each otherand BOY,do things turn funny fast.
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic & Mercedes von Martritz, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Felix Hugo Fraldarius & Ingrid Brandl Galatea & Sylvain Jose Gautier
Series: Fire emblem 3 houses:musician version [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2091615
Kudos: 1





	1. Annie and Mercie

**Author's Note:**

> a funny thing that popped into my head  
> I don't play trumpet so this may be inaccurate

“Ahh...what a fine day it is” Mercie mused to herself as Annette played some jazz trumpet in the background.

“Ain’t I great?” Annette asked as she kept on freestyling as she pleased.

“But...I’m abit curious in how you actually play? - is it as simple as it looks? Or is it totally complicated?” Mercie asked as Annie stopped playing to get a better listen at her friend’s question.

“I could teach you if you wanna know the inner workings of the trumpet if you like!” Annie piped up.

“I’d be happy to learn! Only if you let me teach the flute to you afterwards” Mercie agreed as she made a deal.

“Alright! Here’s my trumpet” Annie said as she handed the instrument over to her friend so she could observe the instrument.

Mercie gently took the trumpet and observed it from all angles - curious as to how to play it and sound good.She then tried to recall one of her countless memories of Annie playing trumpet so she could play it herself.

After a few moments of recollection,she put the trumpet into her mouth and blew a sour note - making Annie giggle at the noise.

“Hahahahhhaaa Mercie! You’re not supposed to play like that” She giggled as she walked over to give Mercie some pointers on the trumpet.

“Left hand supports the instrument,right hand on the valves” Annie instructed as she moved Mercie’s fingers to the correct positions.

Mercie tried pressing the valves just to get a feel for the instrument - who knows? Maybe she’ll have to sub in for Annie one day.

“Now,can I actually play the trumpet properly?” Mercie asked eagerly.

“Yeah,you play it like you’re kissing it” Annie explained shortly as Mercie positioned the trumpet on her lips as if she were kissing it like Annie told her to.

“Now just take a really big breath in and blow” Annie told her as Mercie inhaled through her nose.

Mercie managed to play a single out-of-tune note until her cheeks went red.

“Yay! You did it!” Annie cheered as she hopped up and down at her friend’s success.

“I’m a natural at this” Mercie giggled as she handed the trumpet back to Annie.

“Maybe I’ll learn the flute sometime so we can swap our instruments in a duet” Annie suggested as she got some water.

“Ah! That reminds me! I’ve gotta give you a flute lesson after this” Mercie exclaimed at the note.

-The fun continues on chapter 2-


	2. Flautist Annette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie gets a flute lesson from Mercie
> 
> Being a trumpet/saxophone/clarinet player didn't make things easier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't play flute so if this is inaccurate in any way
> 
> Sorry!

"So...this is what a flute looks like" Annie mused to herself as she was holding her friend's silver flute (well, it's not made out of silver but it has a silver color ok?)

"so many keys on this thing" Annie muttered to herself,not wanting Mercedes to hear

"But it's fun when you get the hang of it" Mercie,who was having a glass of water,called to her.

Annie picked up the flute and envisioned a moment that she saw Mercie playing it up close,after that She held the flute and blew into the tone hole,the only sound that she made was a hollow air-rushing-through sound.

"Why is there NO SOUND?!" Annie asked her friend in a bamboozled tone.

Mercie stifled a giggle before explaining "you aren't holding it right,and you're supposed to blow across the tone hole-not into it" the blonde explained as she tried not to laugh at her friend's attempt to play the flute,much like herself when she was still a 4 year old beginner.

Mercie then guided Annie's fingers to grip the flute properly and adjusted her arms so that Annie had the correct posture for the instrument,as well as angling the flute's mouthplate and tone hole correctly so her friend can play easily.

Annie took a few moments to save this into her muscle memory before turning to Mercie and asking "so,do i just blow now?".

"yes,just blow and you'll see that it's great fun" The older woman replied cheerfully as she watched the younger redhead prepare to play.

Annie took a deep breath in,moved her fingers to randomly press some of the keys,and blew across the tone hole like her friend had suggested,the sound was a fairly decent G-sharp lasting as long as she could blow.

"Annie! you did it!" Mercie beamed with joy and pride as she heard her friend play her first note,much like her mother when she herself made her first decent sound on the instrument. "but the sound is still a bit squeaky because you're blowing too hard okay?" She suggested.

Annie took those words to heart and made sure to be gentler next time when she plays the flute.Maybe it's because she plays the trumpet and saxophone,both of which need more force to get a sound out of.

while they were far from experts at their friends' instruments,they know the basics and could step up to sub in for one another should the need arise.


	3. Ingrid the cellist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Faerghus quartet swap their instruments by drawing from a hat and Ingrid got a cello lesson from Sylvain.
> 
> She's seen and watched him play before,as a young child and as an adult,but when she has a go at playing it,she soon finds out it's not as easy as it looks

Sylvain was tuning his cello when Ingrid walked in.

"Come on,be in tune already.cello" He reprimanded his cello when the tuning got more arduous than usual,frustrating him and earning a 'when are ya gonna be done' look from his bandmates if he were in a concert.

"Still can't tune,as always." Ingrid teased as she grabbed a chair to sit down.

"At least i don't have trouble with phrasing and dynamic control too much" Sylvain retorted playfully back at her as he finished tuning his instrument.His words making Ingrid speechless because,it was the truth;She used to have major problems surrounding phrasing and dynamic control back when she was a girl, e.g. starting a phrase super loud and gradually dropping off on volume as her breath ran out.

"Alright,I'm ready.Where do we start?" Ingrid stated smugly as Sylvain helped position the cello correctly and guided her fingers to grip the bow properly.She raised the bow with confidence and dignity and brought it down on the strings,making a loud " SSSSKKKKRRRRREEEEEEERERERERERERKKKKKKKKKKSKSKKS" sound which made Sylvain wince and cover his ears.

"Are you trying to blow out our ears?!?" Sylvain teased as he positioned Ingrid's fingers on the fingerboard and moved her bow to the point halfway between the bridge and fingerboard,where you get the best tone.

"Try to keep the bow around here,and try some slow open strings now." Sylvain instructed.

Ingrid slowly bowed the open strings,making a smoother,more dulcet tone than last time,earning an approving smile from Sylvain.

"finally you discarded your brusque-ness from playing the trumpet for once" Sylvain teased Ingrid as she was bowing the open strings.

"EXCUSE ME?" Ingrid retorted playfully at his words. "you need a lot of control to play trumpet,much more than you need to play cello." She continued."WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO GIVE YOU A LESSON ON THE TRUMPET" She offered.

"No no,I've already got a piano lesson from Felix already,but I'm happy to oblige" Sylvain casually replied.

"Now,I have to go to Felix for my piano lesson now BYEE!!" Sylvain blurted as he sped away,leaving Ingrid with his cello.

"I don't even know how to put this away!,Sylvain COME BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!!" Ingrid yelled after him.


	4. Sylvain the pianist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sylvain gets a piano lesson from Felix,He thinks it's easy to learn.But what he thought was far from the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I play piano so i wrote this fic.
> 
> Presently,piano keys are made from wood,not ivory so the term is just jargon
> 
> Etude - an exercise to hone certain skills of a specific instrument.
> 
> mode - the different patterns of tones/semitones used in music.
> 
> Ad lib - improvisation
> 
> i started piano at 10 and my first teacher gave me a candy bar after lessons if i remember to keep my hands arched as if i'm holding it.

Felix was sitting at the piano,playing scales and etudes as he pleased - a fundamental warmup for a pianist of his skill and calibre with more than a decade of experience of the piano.He knew the 24 scales and the 7 modes by heart.

"Hey,Felix.I'm here now,let's start." Sylvain piped up as he strode into the room,as soon as he saw Felix' fingers fly up and down the ivory "Whoa,that was so cool". He blurted out.

"It was nothing.Me and my brother had to do 10 rounds of these before we actually get to the song back when we were younger" Felix replied nonchalantly,as if every person on earth could do that without effort.

"I'll learn only the basics 'ere alright?" Sylvain teased as Felix moved to sit in a nearby chair so he could sit at the piano properly.

"okay,we'll start with how to position your hands on the piano and how to tickle the keys correctly." Felix initiated.

"keep your fingers arched,as if you're holding a large toblerone in it,and when you play,use your fingers to tickle the keys and only move the second and third joints when you play.This will create a nice dulcet tone from the instrument." Felix instructed.

Sylvain was abit bamboozled with the instructions and requested that Felix help position his hands when as he picked up the skill,bit by bit.

"of course I'll help you." Felix scoffed. "My brother also did that to me back when i first started" he continued.

Sylvain was unaccustomed to this technique,but has seen it countless times since starting the Faerghus quartet with him being the cellist and Felix being the pianist.but soon got the hang of it.

"Hey,let's play a 4 hands song on this" Sylvain suggested.

"Nope,you're still not advanced enough even for the easiest duet in existence" Felix declined with an asinine face,earning a slightly dissapointed look from Sylvain.

"Then what can i play?" Sylvain questioned.

Felix went to the bookcase to pick a beginner's piano book from it,he laid the first page which had 'twinkle twinkle little star' on it.It was a children's piano book.

"Here,play this without any mistake then we'll try something harder." He spat at his friend.

"A piano book for 5 year olds?!?,Seriously?!" Sylvain exclaimed in shock.before playing the iconic 'Do-Do-Sol-Sol-La-La-Sol' on the piano with his right hand arched,wrist straight and moving only the second and third joints as Felix instructed earlier,earning a smile of approval from Felix.

"Good,you're way better than i thought" Felix remarked.

"Alright,does this mean we'll get to play duet now?" Sylvain pleaded.

"We could play 'london bridge is falling down' if that's fine" Felix suggested.

"I'm fine with whatever you suggest,now let's play" Sylvain beamed enthusiastically before turning the page to the song.

"I'll just ad lib the bassline here" Felix stated as he saw that the sheet was meant for 1 person to play.

"ad lib is making it up as you play?" Sylvain asked in amazement even though he'd seen him doing it many a time.

"yup,now let's play" Felix piped up as he played the pickup bars for Sylvain.

Sylvain sang the lyrics loudly as he played with Felix,when they finished,Felix gave him a round of applause.

Felix was to get a violin lesson from Dimitri next and Ingrid was to give Dimitri a trumpet lesson as well.

"Bye,Felix" Sylvain said as he strode out.

"Bye" Felix returned the greeting as he practiced some more.


	5. Dimitri the trumpetist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dimitri gets a trumpet lesson from his friend Ingrid,he thinks the instrument is easy to pick up and play,Ingrid,however,shows him the truth and nothing but the truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this is inaccurate imma be sorry in advance.

Ingrid is able to do a cool trick with the trumpet,She could play simple tunes with only the mouthpiece of the instrument - a technique called embouchure.She was playing 'bye bye blackbird' with this technique when Dimitri walked in.

When Dimitri walked in he was amazed by how she could play the piece with a fairly decent tone with just the mouthpiece.

"How do you even do that,will i learn how to do that today?" he asked her in amazement.

"Nope,but you'll be practicing something similar instead" Ingrid replied as she wiped her mouthpiece on a cloth that she always kept in her trumpet case.

"Is it hard to pick up the basics of the trumpet?" Dimitri asked inquisitively.

"well...it depends on each person and that's about it.It took me 3 weeks to actually start playing properly when i first started at 3 years old." Ingrid replied.  
"of course you'll take only about 20-30 minutes to learn how to hold and play it because you're older than when i first started" she continued.

She handed the her mouthpiece over to Dimitri,who looked confused because he thought this was an advanced trick.

"How...how is this supposed to help with the basics?" Dimitri asked,bamboozled.

"It's the first thing i did when i first started - see if you can get a sound out of it and I'll let you play the trumpet properly after this" Ingrid replied.

Dimitri tried to recall every existing memory of him watching Ingrid play trumpet,both in recitals and practice sessions.

He put the mouthpiece on his mouth as if he were kissing it and asked "is this right?".

"Yes,correct" Ingrid replied as Dimitri played what sounds like a dying duck as he tried not to laugh at his attempt,which made Ingrid burst out laughing uncontrollably.

"HAHAAAAAHHAHAHAHAH" Ingrid had to lie down on the sofa as it was too funny,she wiped some tears off of her face before centering herself to continue the lesson,stomach still hurting from laughing so hard.

"Ok ok,now I'll put together the trumpet so you can actually play a song on it" Ingrid approved as she inserted the mouthpiece into the backbore of her instrument for Dimitri to play.

"now i'm going to teach you how to hold the trumpet correctly and maybe play a few beginner songs if you're up for it" Ingrid let on.

Dimitri quickly picked up on how to hold the instrument - left hand supporting the instrument,right hand on the valves,ready to play.He had a go at the trumpet before - as a boy,but it was actually him blowing and Ingrid holding it for him and pressing the valves for him as well.so it wasn't actually 'playing'.

Ingrid went to a bookshelf and pulled out a beginner's sheet music book,set it on a music stand for Dimitri,and turned to 'hot cross buns' -the easiest song in existence,she also had a diagram showing finger patterns for each note so Dimitri could play easily.

Dimitri's eyes alternated between the score and the diagram as he played a quack rendition of the simple song.earning approval from his friend.

"you're good" Ingrid praised him. "much better than me when i first started".

"now i have to go give Felix a violin lesson now" Dimitri muttered.

"best of luck!" Ingrid beamed as she saw him off.


	6. Violinist Felix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok,personally i think Felix is quite photogenic with a violin,but would his skills say the same?

Dimitri was tuning his violin as Felix sauntered into the room quietly - as to not interrupt the tuning.Felix was the honorary and literal head of tuning during ensembles and group performances ever since starting the Faerghus quartet when He and Dimitri were young children.

"Felix,you're here" Dimitri greeted as his friend walked in.

"Finally,you can tune without my help now." Felix teased - Dimitri always had to enlist the help of his brother,Glenn to tune his violin for him when he was younger,or maybe having Felix play an A on the piano so he could tune to it.

Dimitri attached his blue shoulder rest onto his violin before handing the instrument to Felix.

Felix curiously plucked on the strings as if it were a guitar - what Dimitri always did as a joke when it was Faerghus jazz quartet day.Jazz was one of his favourite genres of music to listen to and play - even if he isn't good at improvisation.some of their mutual childhood jazz hits were 'you raise me up' and 'fly me too the moon'.

Dimitri handed the bow over to Felix and he took a few moments to recall how Dimitri held his bow when he played and tried to do the same.he raised his bow,as if in a grand concert,and brought it down onto the strings - producing a less-than-satisfactory sound.

"Okay,now i need to teach you how to hold the bow and position the violin properly now." Dimitri stated.

"First up,hold the violin so that it rests on your left collarbone,and keep your left wrist straight and not touching the neck of the violin" Dimitri instructed as he moved Felix' arms around,ensuring that he learns the correct technique.

Felix was also taught how to grip the bow properly as well.the bow hold was one of the things that cannot be described by words but if shown an example - one can picture the image instantly.

Soon,Felix had the basics down and asked Dimitri for a song that he could play.

Dimitri went over to a bookshelf and rummaged for a beginner's violin textbook,Then he set the sheets in front of Felix with a music stand.

"really?,you're gonna let me play a kids song?!" Felix questioned his friend as he saw the sheets of 'lightly row' spread in front of him.

"Just play it without mistakes and with a nice tone first" Dimitri casually replied as his friend prepared to play.

Felix went through the song with a few mistakes and played with a screechy tone - akin to a dying screeching something.

"See,you made a few mistakes and played with a screechy tone." Dimitri teased "you still have a ways to go on this one before moving on to more complex pieces". He continued.

Felix thought Dimitri was being nitpicky but He really needs more practice to move on,and he accepted his friend's decision.

"I think it's best if we keep to our OG instruments" Felix mused.

"Yes,I agree" Dimitri replied.

Felix said goodbye to Dimitri and he went back home to practice the piano some more.

The experience of swapping instruments with each other was a memoerble one indeed.


End file.
